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Posted: 4/21/2026 3:24:33 PM EDT
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besides a $50+ buffer, has anyone tried putting a plastic liner inside the buffer tube? what's the ID of the standard buffer tube? one gun is 12" pistol, other standard 16" rifle. i know it won't be as quiet, but just don't want to spend money i don't have. thanks |
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Originally Posted By spearogun: Just put a light coating of grease on the buffer spring. Problem solved. This right here. I use an auto store brand heavy duty lithium grease (different from white lithium grease). It's a multipurpose NLGI grade 2 grease and is quieter than lighter greases that I've tried. EDIT TO ADD: Avoid greases with graphite. It corrodes aluminum. |
| Chrome silicon buffer springs are less twangy than standard music wire springs |
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Originally Posted By Moondog: Chrome silicon buffer springs are less twangy than standard music wire springs that...Tubb`s |
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Originally Posted By spearogun: Just put a light coating of grease on the buffer spring. Problem solved. This is the correct answer. |
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They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin, 1775
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin, 1775
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Originally Posted By lx2008: that...Tubb`s Originally Posted By lx2008: Originally Posted By Moondog: Chrome silicon buffer springs are less twangy than standard music wire springs that...Tubb`s Tubbs are SS, no? |
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Originally Posted By Moondog: Chrome silicon buffer springs are less twangy than standard music wire springs Grease is cheaper . . . |
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Originally Posted By Moondog: Chrome silicon buffer springs are less twangy than standard music wire springs The standard buffer spring is 17-7 precipitation-hardened stainless steel. |
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Grease existing spring, or replace with: Tubb flatwire spring, Armaspec or Geissle braided wire spring, Armaspec or JP SRS I've used the Armaspec SRS in a couple guns without issue, and have the "amphibian recoil system" Tubb+Kynshot in my well-regulated mk18 |
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Originally Posted By lx2008: that...Tubb`s Originally Posted By lx2008: Originally Posted By Moondog: Chrome silicon buffer springs are less twangy than standard music wire springs that...Tubb`s Tubbs flatwire is also 17-7 stainless. |
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| I just put the same grease I use on the rest of the working bits onto both the buffer and the spring. Minimal noise. |
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Originally Posted By TGWLDR: Thought I missed something.  Originally Posted By TGWLDR: Originally Posted By lx2008: Originally Posted By TGWLDR: Tubbs are SS, no? well shit...i thought were chrome. my bad! Thought I missed something. They used to be chrome silicone. They changed them due to corrosion issues. |
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Originally Posted By L119188: They used to be chrome silicone. They changed them due to corrosion issues. Originally Posted By L119188: Originally Posted By TGWLDR: Originally Posted By lx2008: Originally Posted By TGWLDR: Tubbs are SS, no? well shit...i thought were chrome. my bad! Thought I missed something. They used to be chrome silicone. They changed them due to corrosion issues. Thanks for the info. I didn't recall them ever being CS but I'm not paying that close of attention to them honestly . |
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Originally Posted By JoeDevola: I can't believe this is even a question. It's just strange to me that any AR shooters ever care about the sound of the buffer spring. I wouldn't invest a lot of money into the issue but some grease worked and was free because I already had it. Stopnotlikingwhatidon'tnotlike.jpg |
| I didn't get annoyed by buffer spring "twang" until I started shooting my suppressed 9mm blowback PCC SBR. A suppressed 9mm is pretty quiet so I was not really so annoyed that I wanted to do something about it. Back in 2014, this "twang" subject did come up here at ARFCOM and I did use a little grease and that worked wonders where the noise didn't bother me. I was more annoyed with "port pop". I did a whole lot more experimenting to get rid of that "pop" out of the ejection port and found that using a Tubb's flatwire 556 spring with a Heavy buffer pretty much eliminated that port pop. Using the Tubb's spring also changed the sound of the buffer spring "twang" to more like a "sshhliiing". Again, a little grease eliminated even that sound. Shooting that PCC in an indoor range was amazingly quiet (not Hollywood quiet), and quiet enough to draw raised eyebrows and amazed commentary from range officers and adjacent shooters. I don't know how many times I had to disassemble my SBR to exhibit my setup. LOL. |
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I use the Damage Industries chrome silicon springs posted above, plus a little grease to prevent corrosion and make it even more quiet. It may not be original mil spec SS, but they tend to last much longer than the standard SS. BTW, these springs are not expensive, shop their frequent sales and get them heavily discounted in five-packs. |
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Originally Posted By 308223: I have a Tubbs flat spring in a rifle lubed with moly grease and it doesn't twang. "Thunk" I love flatwire buffer springs. |
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No matter what you get. Get yourself some Zep 2000 grease. It is what Noveske used to use. Geissele braided spring greatly quiets down the noise. I will be trying a flatwire/a5 on the next build. |
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Hell, a Ford just breaks down on you. It doesn't fall apart AND try to kill you at the same time-Bloodsport2885
That man is a homo and a liar-TrojanMan
Hell, a Ford just breaks down on you. It doesn't fall apart AND try to kill you at the same time-Bloodsport2885
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Originally Posted By HankZudd: besides a $50+ buffer, has anyone tried putting a plastic liner inside the buffer tube? what's the ID of the standard buffer tube? one gun is 12" pistol, other standard 16" rifle. i know it won't be as quiet, but just don't want to spend money i don't have. thanks I've heard that from others, " just don't want to spend money I don't have" , but isn't spending money you don't have the American way?  |
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| Although the consensus is to try grease on the spring, I’ll add this product as an FYI: search for Doublestar Twang Buster. From the description at the Doublestar website: “Depending on QC, some collapsible buffer tubes are slightly shallower which will not allow the bolt to lock to the rear when Twang Buster is installed. This part was designed to work with RIFLE BUFFER TUBES. It will work with most collapsible tubes, but not all.” |
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